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Forte logs half-mile work in prep for G2 Jim Dandy

by NYRA Press Office

•  Forte logs half-mile work in prep for G2 Jim Dandy
  
• Becky’s Joker points to G1 Spinaway after G3 Schuylerville conquest
• Sugar Hi posts sweet maiden score at the Spa
• She's Lookin Lucky possible to step up for G1 CCA Oaks
• Two of a Kind ups the ante in G3 Quick Call
• Uncashed to make his turf debut in G3 Quick Call
• Rookie Report: Pirate ready to raid Saturday maiden

NYRA to host a Cross Country Pick 5 on Sunday featuring Monmouth Park, Woodbine Racetrack and Saratoga Race Course

Reigning Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Forte logged his first breeze of the summer at Saratoga Race Course when covering a half-mile in 48.90 seconds over the Oklahoma dirt training track Friday with regular jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. up for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.

The son of Violence went in company with graded stakes-winner Grand Sonata in preparation for the Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy on July 29 at the Spa.

"He jumped on the bridle a little early, so I kind of took a little hold away from the horse,” said Ortiz, Jr. “I allowed him to see the company and go after him. He did." 

Pletcher said he was pleased with the work, which he moved to the training track after heavy rains overnight led to the main track being sealed this morning.

“We fortunately had the option of coming over here on a harrowed track,” said Pletcher. “I thought he worked well. He’s a pretty straightforward horse and he does what you ask him to do. I thought he was moving really well and he seemed happy. He usually sits a little off [his workmate] to keep him focused.”

Ortiz, Jr., who regularly works the colt, said Forte was as professional as usual.

"We went 48 and change. On this kind of track, it is really good,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “He is doing good. He looked good, he looked happy, so let's see what happens. The way he does things [excites me]. He knows where the wire is. He loves to win. You can see in the Belmont Stakes, I kept trying with him and he kept coming. He's a fighter." 

Forte, owned by St. Elias Stable and Repole Stable, recorded his second work since running a closing second in the 12-furlong Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, adding to a half-mile drill in 50.80 he posted on July 7 over the Belmont dirt training track.

“He’s obviously a very fit horse and he just ran a mile and a half, so we don’t feel like we have to do a lot with him leading up to this race,” Pletcher said. “We’ll probably come back with another maintenance work next week.” 

Forte had a five-race win streak snapped in the Belmont after beginning his sophomore season with wins in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth and Grade 1 Florida Derby, both at Gulfstream Park. The Jim Dandy is likely to serve as a springboard to the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on August 26, a race Pletcher said would be meaningful to win after Forte was forced to scratch from the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby due to a bruised foot.

“I think you can see he’s a little more laid back. He’s an intelligent colt and takes everything in stride, and you can see he’s matured that way,” said Pletcher. “Obviously it was a frustrating spring and he ran terrific in the Belmont considering what he was up against. To me, he’s a deserving divisional leader, but like everyone else, he’s got to continue to win to hold that spot.”

Pletcher also provided an update on 2-year-old filly Wine On Tap, who finished an even fourth in Thursday’s Grade 3 Schuylerville as the post-time favorite. The daughter of Tapit raced a half-length off the pace through the first quarter mile under Ortiz, Jr., but backpedaled into the turn and was defeated 6 3/4 lengths by the victorious first-time starter Becky’s Joker.

“She looks good. She was just kind of one-paced down the lane and I thought she recovered and galloped out really well,” said Pletcher. “She is a filly that we’ve always thought would be better going longer. It was just a little disappointing that she didn’t finish up a little better than she did yesterday, but she came back well and looked good this morning.”

***

Becky’s Joker points to G1 Spinaway after G3 Schuylerville conquest

Trainer Gary Contessa was still watching replays on Friday morning of Lee Pokoik’s Becky’s Joker, who launched what appears to be a promising career with a debut victory in the Grade 3, $175,000 Schuylerville on Opening Day at Saratoga Race Course.

Becky’s Joker, a daughter of third-crop sire Practical Joke, entered the six-furlong Schuylerville off nothing more than a Saratoga work tab, breezing a sharp three furlongs in 34.88 seconds over the main track en route to Thursday’s score.

Despite breaking slow, she recovered quickly and was a close fourth by the first point of call before splitting foes in upper stretch to draw away to a 3 1/4-length score to spring a 21-1 upset as the second longest shot in the seven-horse field. The effort garnered a 75 Beyer Speed Figure.

The sizable bay stands 16.3 hands high and, “towers over everybody” in the barn according to Contessa, who confirmed the filly for the seven-furlong Grade 1, $300,000 Spinaway on September 3 at the Spa.

“She came back sound and they tell me she looked great this morning,” said Contessa, who was catching a flight to Nashville to watch his son’s baseball tournament. “She honestly can only get better. She’s got a lot more left in the tank, so we’re looking forward to seeing what she can come up with next. As big as she is, and as big as her stride is, she’s going to get better as the distances stretch out. I think seven-eighths is going to hit her right between the eyeballs in the Spinaway.”

Contessa commented on the soundness and the good mind of his newly minted graded stakes winner.

“Knock on wood, she’s been very, very sound and very healthy. Everything has gone our way so far, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that it continues,” Contessa said. “She’s trained as well as any horse I’ve ever had as a 2-year-old. No matter what you ask her to do, she’s push button and picks it up to another gear. Her mind is so good. She had it figured out and she’s really a smart filly.”

Contessa’s last graded stakes victory before the Schuylerville took place with Pokoik’s Sippican Harbor, who pulled a 16-1 upset in the 2018 Grade 1 Spinaway.

Both Becky’s Joker and Sippican Harbor were initially slated to be pinhooked before their racing careers, but ended up not being sold at public auction.

“With Lee Pokoik, we have a program where we buy well-bred fillies as weanlings and then we try to resell them as yearlings. This year, we sold an American Pharoah filly that we paid $200,000 for and sold her for $475,000. We sell them for profit, but they don’t all get sold,” Contessa said. “We bought her and Sippican Harbor, tried to resell them. We just couldn’t get them sold. Then, I won a Grade 1 with Sippican Harbor. I only get them to train if we don’t get them sold. That’s the game plan, but so far it’s been very successful with the ones that we haven’t been able to sell. They’ve turned out to be some of our best ones.”

For the past couple of years, Contessa has worked as private trainer and general manager for Nick Beaver’s Belle Gable Stable.

“I had a two-year contract and I sat down with Nick and I told him that we could reduce our overhead by 25-35 percent if we just gave his horses to a public trainer and that’s what we did. We gave his horses to Rick Sillaman, who has a public stable at Laurel and Delaware,” Contessa said. “A bunch of my owners asked me if I would come back and train their young horses, which is really my specialty.”

One can expect Contessa, who has 10 stalls on Saratoga’s Oklahoma backstretch, to unleash more promising young talent throughout the meet.

“All these babies are ready to run, so we’re going to have a real presence,” Contessa said. “This was a great win to start with and we have even more pretty nice horses awaiting their turn.”

Contessa added that he could have stalls at Belmont Park later this year.

“I’m sure I will, but I’m going to stay at Saratoga until the very end,” Contessa said.

Bred in Kentucky by Warren J. Harang, Becky’s Joker is out of the Elusive Quality mare Becky’s Best – a half-sister to graded stakes winner Vertical Oak- the dam of graded stakes-placed sophomore Giant Mischief.

***

Sugar Hi posts sweet maiden score at the Spa

CJ Thoroughbreds’ Sugar Hi impressed with a six-length romp in Race 2 on Opening Day at Saratoga, a 5 1/2-furlong main-track sprint for juvenile fillies.

The victory provided a little déjà vu for CJ Johnsen, Vice President of CJ Thoroughbreds, who sent out Half a Chance to win the first baby race of last year’s Saratoga meet – a 5 1/2-furlong sprint that featured third-place finisher Chocolate Gelato, who went on to win the Grade 1 Frizette two starts later.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott and piloted by Junior Alvarado, Sugar Hi attended the pace set by Lady Moscato from second position and put a head in front at the stretch call before edging clear of her seven rivals to stop the clock in a final time of 1:05.14.

“At the top of the stretch, I was definitely concerned because Joe Sharp's horse [Honey Dijon] was breathing down our neck,” Johnsen said. “Once she went by, immediately I knew it was over with because she was just so professional with it. She didn't lug in, lug out or look all over the place and get distracted. She knew her job. She waited for Junior to give her the cue and as soon as he did, she responded unbelievably.”

Sugar Hi is the first horse that CJ Thoroughbreds has sent to Mott and Johnsen credited the veteran trainer for having her ready to run.

“He's such a great horseman,” Johnsen said. “She's never done anything wrong and never taken a step backwards. He breezed her on June 20 and he parked her three lengths behind her workmate. He wanted her to take some dirt and make up ground. I got a video of it and she did it so easy.

“I was a little worried that she didn't have a start in her,” added Johnsen. “Bill had wanted to get a race into her at Belmont because Saratoga is a different animal and you want to be physically prepared as well as mentally.”

The $180,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, by Twirling Candy, is out of the Medaglia d'Oro mare Laughing Matters.

“She's bred to go two turns,” Johnsen said. “She's a Twirling Candy out of a Medaglia d'Oro mare and she's from the family of Kitten's Joy and Dreaming of Anna. There's plenty of distance in that pedigree, so for her to have that natural speed and then go on with it [was impressive].”

Johnsen credited Marette Farrell with finding the filly at the sale.

“She was just so classy every time we pulled her out to look at her,” Johnsen said. “She has a great head on her. We were shocked we got her for $180,000 because we thought she was a queen the entire time and just needed some time to grow a little bit.”

Sugar Hi earned an 80 Beyer Speed Figure for her maiden score, five points higher than the number earned by juvenile filly Becky’s Joker, who graduated later on the card in the Grade 3 Schuylerville.

Although the next stakes spot for 2-year-old fillies is the Grade 3, $200,000 Adirondack on August 6, it’s more likely that Thursday’s impressive maiden winners could square off in the seven-furlong Grade 1, $300,000 Spinaway on September 3.

“I'm looking forward to the future with this one and I haven't felt this way about a horse in a long time,” Johnsen said. “She came out great and ate up this morning. Everything's good, so we'll give it a few more days and let Bill decide what's next for her. The Adirondack is three weeks away and I don't see Bill bringing her back that quick, but it's his call. The Spinaway would be the logical thing. If she does well in her next start then we have to start working backwards from the [Breeders’ Cup] Juvenile Fillies.”

CJ Thoroughbreds will be represented by stakes-placed Hang the Moon in Saturday's $150,000 Christiana, a nine-furlong turf test for sophomore fillies at Delaware Park.

Trained by Michael Stidham, the Uncle Mo bay won an optional-claimer in her turf debut in January at Fair Grounds and closed to finish a close fourth in the LaCombe Memorial in March over the same course. Last out, she rallied from 10 lengths off the pace under Tyler Gaffalione to finish third in the one-mile Hilltop on May 19 at Pimlico won by the Chad Brown-trained Aspray over the Christophe Clement-conditioned Breath Away.

“She's one of those ones that’s been slowly improving every single race,” Johnsen said. “I flew to Pimlico to watch her run and we were 20-1 running against Chad Brown and Clement. That was a really tough race. I was confident she'd run a good race and Tyler said after that she's going to get better and better.”

The $200,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase is out of the Malibu Moon mare Moondance, who is a full-sister to multiple graded-stakes placed Cue the Moon and multiple stakes-winner Red Hot Buddha.

Hang the Moon, listed as the 2-1 second choice, will exit the outermost post 6 under Daniel Centeno.

“It's a mile and an eighth and she should relish that. We’re excited about tomorrow,” Johnsen said.

***

She’s Lookin Lucky possible to step up for G1 CCA Oaks

Richard Dunn, Ten Strike Racing, Gary Barber, Jeremy Sussman and Todd Monken's She's Lookin Lucky is possible to make her Saratoga debut on July 22 in the Grade 1, $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks, a nine-furlong test for sophomore fillies.

“We haven't decided 100 percent just yet. We'll breeze her tomorrow and see how she goes. As long as she breezes good then we may enter,” said trainer Matt Shirer.

The Lookin At Lucky chestnut graduated at third asking in a one-mile and 70 yard off-the-turf event in February at Fair Grounds when owned outright by her breeder, Richard Dunn.

She finished second next out to highly-regarded Punchbowl for her current connections in a 1 1/16-mile optional-claiming route in March at Oaklawn, but faltered to last-of-10 in her stakes debut after exiting the inside post in the Grade 3 Fantasy in April over the same course.

“We had the one-hole and she really didn't break that sharp that day,” said Shirer regarding the Fantasy. “She got bounced around a little bit and it was just a little bit of a dull effort.”

She's Lookin Lucky was freshened and returned to action in June at Churchill Downs, setting the tempo in a one-mile optional-claimer before fading to fourth in a race won in dominant fashion by Scylla. Last out, she returned to winning form with a seven-length romp traveling nine furlongs over a sloppy and sealed main track on June 29 at Ellis Park.

Out of the Wildcat Heir mare Worldly Heiress, She's Lookin Lucky's second dam is Changing World - a graded-stakes winning turf router.

Given her current form, Shirer said he’s unlikely to try She’s Lookin Lucky on turf in the near future.

“When I entered her on the turf that day, I really hadn't had her for that long,” said Shirer, who took over training duties from Al Stall, Jr. “I thought she had a little turf pedigree to her and I talked to Richard [Dunn] and thought we'd try her on the grass. It was an experiment but then she ran so good on the dirt that I don't see any need to run grass any time soon. We'll see what happens down the road.”

Shirer will send out Jeremy Sussman, Ten Strike Racing and Cory Moelis Racing's Pledgeofallegiance in Race 7 on Sunday here, a 1 3/16-mile main track allowance.

The 6-year-old Constitution gelding was haltered for $50,000 out of a winning effort in June at Churchill Downs and paid immediate dividends by posting a one-length score in a one-mile allowance event on June 18 at Ellis Park to pick up the $48,000 winner's share of the $82,800 purse.

The bay gelding featured in a number of allowance sprints last year at Churchill and Oaklawn, but Shirer felt he might thrive with added ground.

“He's a nice, hard-knocking horse and I thought his two-turn races and one-turn mile races were impressive,” Shirer said. “He had pretty good numbers in those and we thought we'd take a shot and claim him to see if we could stretch him out even more.

“Luckily, the day we claimed him that was a mile and a sixteenth and didn't have to experiment that much with the two turns because he ran so good that day,” added Shirer. “We figured out he could handle the two turns no problem, so now we'll stretch him out a little bit more for this race and see if he handles the mile and three-sixteenths. He's doing very well.”

Ricardo Santana, Jr. has the call from the outermost post 7.

Sussman, Ten Strike Racing and Cory Moelis Racing's graded-stakes placed Kneedeepinsnow made a pair of starts here last summer, finishing second to Jackie's Warrior in the six-furlong Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap and elevated to sixth in the seven-furlong Grade 1 Forego.

The 7-year-old Flat Out gelding was last seen finishing third in the Ed Skinner in June at Prairie Meadows and breezed back this morning at Churchill Downs, covering a half-mile in 47.20.

“He's a tough horse and a barn favorite,” Shirer said. “He breezed this morning at Churchill and almost had the bullet work. He's doing really well. He just ran third in a stake at Prairie Meadows, but I haven't decided on the next race just yet. I'd like to find an allowance race and try and get him a win and some confidence.”

***

Two of a Kind ups the ante in G3 Quick Call

K and R Racing Stable and Town Branch Racing’s Two of a Kind brings a six-race streak of on-the-board efforts in stakes events to Sunday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Quick Call presented by Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation at Saratoga Race Course as he looks for a breakthrough score at the graded level.

Trained by Brian Lynch, the 3-year-old son of Overanalzye began his streak with a win in last year’s Tremont at Belmont Park before a shoulder injury forced a seven-month layoff. He returned as a sophomore with a trio of third-place efforts in Gulfstream Park’s Limehouse, Grade 3 Swale, where he made the lone graded start of his career, and Hutcheson.

In April, Lynch made the decision to switch the bay colt to the turf, a move he said was done on a whim.

“It seems like he’s doing really well and we’re happy with him,” said Lynch.

“The turf has been a pleasant surprise. I’m a guy who will just try horses on the grass, and his form had been OK down in Florida, but I never felt like we weren’t getting out of him what we expected. So, we thought we’d give it a try and I think things have turned around.”

The decision left him cold on the board in the 5 1/2-furlong Palisades when making his grass debut over good footing in April at Keeneland. He exited the inside post at odds of 51-1 and was held near the rear of the 12-horse field down the backstretch before unleashing a strong turn of foot in the turn and running down all but Gaslight Dancer, who he faces again Sunday.

“That was a great run down there,” said Lynch. “I think the further he’s getting into his 3-year-old year, he’s becoming a bigger and stronger horse. He’s getting a lot more confident and he’s starting to come around. It seems I can keep horses sound and around a lot longer if they show affinity for the turf, and right now what we’re doing seems to be working.”

Two of a Kind enters the 5 1/2-furlong Quick Call off a runner-up effort at the same distance in the William Walker on May 13 at Churchill Downs, where he defeated Gaslight Dancer and finished 1 1/2 lengths behind fellow Quick Call aspirant No Nay Hudson.

Saratoga’s turf courses could hold decent moisture heading into the weekend after torrential rain Thursday evening forced Friday’s scheduled turf races to be moved to the main track. Even with more rain forecasted for Sunday, Lynch said he has little concern for what kind of surface the Quick Call is contested over.

“He’s a horse that you wouldn’t hesitate to run on the dirt either, so either way we are up there to run,” said Lynch. “He ran well at Keeneland when there was a bit of cut in the ground, so no excuses.”

Two of a Kind is out of the stakes-placed Freud mare Freud’s Irish Miss, who herself is a half-sister to broodmares Private Eyes and Sweet Vale, the respective dams of graded stakes-placed millionaire Immortal Eyes and multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Sterwins. Two of a Kind has banked $273,785 in total purse earnings through a record of 7-2-2-3.

***

Uncashed to make his turf debut in G3 Quick Call

Patricia’s Hope LLC’s Uncashed is set to try the turf for the first time in Sunday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Quick Call presented by Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf test for sophomores. 

Uncashed, trained by Larry Rivelli, owns a 5-4-1-0 record including three straight wins, most recently with an 8 1/2-length score in the six furlong Golden Circle on May 20 at Prairie Meadows. This victory received a 91 Beyer Speed Figure, the highest figure of Sunday’s field.

Prior to the Golden Circle, the Florida-bred found the winner’s circle twice versus allowance company at Hawthorne and last year when breaking his maiden first time out at Louisiana Downs.

“It is a straight three year old race that looks to me like it probably will be off-the-turf, which we would be okay with,” said Rivelli. “The dam side of his pedigree suggests turf and we are willing to try it. I think he will like it actually, but it won’t hurt my feelings if it comes off.”

Bred by Nicksar Farms and out of the unraced War Chant mare Charlie B, Uncashed has posted his four victories in dominant frontrunning fashion, but Rivelli believes his horse has versatility in running style as well. 

“He just was on the lead because he was so much better than those horses,” Rivelli said. “I think he has the ability to rate and in the post position he has [nine], he might have to. He might be three in front I don’t know… especially if there’s a bunch of scratches if it comes off.”

Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride from post 9.  

“I sought Irad out when I knew he was going to run,” said Rivelli. “He’s ridden for me a lot before when I ship in for stakes...always been a fan of his.”

***

Rookie Report: Pirate ready to raid Saturday maiden

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher has always had a knack with debuting well-bred juveniles during the prestigious Saratoga Race Course meet and this year appears to be no exception. In Saturday’s first race, Pletcher will saddle Harrel Ventures and Starlight Racing’s regally-bred Pirate for his career debut.

The dark bay colt is a son of freshman stallion Omaha Beach, who already has two graded stakes-placed progeny amongst his three winners. Pirate is a half-brother to Grade 1 Preakness winner National Treasure, with both being out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare Treasure.

Pirate has displayed sharpness out of the gate during his morning breezes over the Oklahoma training track. He worked a bullet half-mile in 48.51 seconds on June 29 before going the same distance in 48.65 on July 7.

Pletcher said he hopes his blue-blooded juvenile can find his sea legs on debut.

“He’s been super professional. He’s got a great disposition,” Pletcher said. “The works have been good. We drew the one-hole which you don’t usually want to do with a first time starter, but hopefully he breaks cleanly like he has in the morning.”

Bred in Kentucky by Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds, Pirate was a $350,000 purchase at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. His second dam, Proposal, produced multiple stakes winner Inspired – the dam of graded stakes-placed Carmel Road. He hails from the line of Mahubah, who was the dam of the mighty Man o’ War and great great grand dam of 1946 Triple Crown winner Assault.

***

NYRA to host a Cross Country Pick 5 on Sunday featuring Monmouth Park, Woodbine Racetrack and Saratoga Race Course

The New York Racing Association Inc. (NYRA) will host a Cross Country Pick 5 on Sunday featuring stakes from Saratoga Race Course and Monmouth Park as well as racing action from Woodbine Racetrack.

The Cross Country Pick 5 requires bettors to pick the winner of five select races from tracks across the country. The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country with each week featuring a mandatory payout of the net pool. The Cross Country Pick 5, boasting a low 15 percent takeout, offers sequences with races from Saratoga Race Course and partner tracks across the country.

Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence will be available for download at https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/cross-country-wagers.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Sunday, July 16

Leg A: Monmouth Park - Race 9, $100K My Frenchman (4:35 p.m. Eastern)

Leg B: Saratoga Race Course - Race 8, AOC (5:15 p.m.)

Leg C: Woodbine Racetrack - MSW - Race 9 (5:27 p.m.)

Leg D: Saratoga Race Course – G3 Quick Call presented by TRF - Race 9 (5:48 p.m.)

Leg E: Woodbine Racetrack - AOC - Race 10 (6:00 p.m.)

Saratoga Live will present daily coverage and analysis of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the best way to bet every race of the Belmont spring/summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.